Self-Hosted Apps

Deploy Docmost Wiki

An open-source, self-hosted wiki and documentation platform with real-time collaborative editing, structured spaces, and built-in diagram support.

What Is Docmost?

Docmost is an open-source, self-hosted wiki and documentation platform that gives you real-time collaborative editing, structured spaces, granular permissions, and built-in diagram support - all running on a server you control. It's one of the cleaner Confluence alternatives available right now, and it deploys cleanly on a RamNode VPS in under 30 minutes.

System Requirements

• RamNode VPS with at least 2GB RAM (the $6/month SSD KVM plan works well for small teams)
• Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
• A domain name or subdomain pointed at your server's IP (e.g., wiki.yourdomain.com)
• Root or sudo SSH access

Docmost runs as a Docker Compose stack with three containers: the Docmost app, PostgreSQL 16, and Redis 7.2.

Update the System and Install Docker

SSH into your VPS and get the system up to date:

Update system

apt update && apt upgrade -y

Install dependencies and add Docker's official GPG key:

Install Docker dependencies

apt install -y ca-certificates curl gnupg lsb-release

install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg
chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg

echo \
  "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg] \
  https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu $(lsb_release -cs) stable" | \
  tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null

Install Docker Engine:

Install Docker

apt update
apt install -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin

Verify and enable Docker:

Verify and enable

docker --version
docker compose version
systemctl enable docker
systemctl start docker

Create the Project Directory

Create a dedicated directory and pull the official Docker Compose template:

Create directory

mkdir -p /opt/docmost
cd /opt/docmost

curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/docmost/docmost/main/docker-compose.yml

Configure Environment Variables

Generate secrets for your deployment:

Generate secrets

# Generate APP_SECRET (32+ characters)
openssl rand -hex 32

# Generate database password
openssl rand -base64 24

Edit docker-compose.yml with your values:

docker-compose.yml

services:
  docmost:
    image: docmost/docmost:latest
    depends_on:
      - db
      - redis
    environment:
      APP_URL: 'https://wiki.yourdomain.com'
      APP_SECRET: 'your_generated_hex_secret_here'
      DATABASE_URL: 'postgresql://docmost:your_db_password@db:5432/docmost?schema=public'
      REDIS_URL: 'redis://redis:6379'
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - docmost:/app/data/storage
  db:
    image: postgres:16-alpine
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: docmost
      POSTGRES_USER: docmost
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: your_db_password
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - db_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
  redis:
    image: redis:7.2-alpine
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - redis_data:/data

volumes:
  docmost:
  db_data:
  redis_data:

Start the Containers

From the /opt/docmost directory, bring the stack up:

Start containers

docker compose up -d

Check that all three are running:

Check status

docker compose ps

You should see docmost, db, and redis all showing as Up.

Install Nginx and Certbot

Install Nginx and Certbot:

Install Nginx & Certbot

apt install -y nginx certbot python3-certbot-nginx

Create the Nginx Server Block

Create a new configuration file:

/etc/nginx/sites-available/docmost

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name wiki.yourdomain.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;

        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection 'upgrade';
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;

        proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
        proxy_read_timeout 86400s;
        proxy_send_timeout 86400s;
    }
}

The extended timeouts are important for WebSockets used in real-time collaboration.

Enable the site:

Enable site

ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/docmost /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
nginx -t
systemctl reload nginx

Obtain an SSL Certificate

Run Certbot to get a free Let's Encrypt certificate:

Certbot

certbot --nginx -d wiki.yourdomain.com

When asked whether to redirect HTTP to HTTPS, choose yes (option 2).

Test renewal:

Test renewal

certbot renew --dry-run

Complete Setup in the Browser

Open https://wiki.yourdomain.com in your browser. You'll be taken to the Docmost setup screen where you'll create your first workspace, enter your name, email address, and password to set up the admin account.

Optional — Configure Email (SMTP)

Without SMTP, Docmost cannot send email invitations or password reset emails. Add these environment variables to the docmost service:

Add to docker-compose.yml

MAIL_DRIVER: smtp
SMTP_HOST: 'smtp.yourmailprovider.com'
SMTP_PORT: '587'
SMTP_USERNAME: 'your@email.com'
SMTP_PASSWORD: 'yourpassword'
MAIL_FROM_ADDRESS: 'wiki@yourdomain.com'
MAIL_FROM_NAME: 'Your Wiki'

Restart to apply changes:

Restart container

docker compose up -d --force-recreate docmost

Optional — S3-Compatible Storage

By default, Docmost stores uploaded files locally. To use S3-compatible object storage, add these variables:

Add to docker-compose.yml

STORAGE_DRIVER: s3
AWS_S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID: 'your-access-key'
AWS_S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: 'your-secret-key'
AWS_S3_REGION: 'us-east-1'
AWS_S3_BUCKET: 'your-bucket-name'
# For S3-compatible providers, also set:
AWS_S3_ENDPOINT: 'https://s3.yourprovider.com'

Restart to apply:

Restart container

docker compose up -d --force-recreate docmost

Backup Strategy

To dump the database to a file:

Database backup

docker compose exec db pg_dump -U docmost docmost > /opt/docmost/backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).sql

For automated daily backups, add a cron entry:

Cron entry

0 2 * * * root docker compose -f /opt/docmost/docker-compose.yml exec -T db pg_dump -U docmost docmost > /opt/docmost/backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).sql

To back up uploaded file storage:

Files backup

docker run --rm \
  -v docmost_docmost:/data \
  -v /opt/docmost/backups:/backups \
  alpine tar czf /backups/docmost-files-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz -C /data .

Managing the Stack

Useful commands

# Pull the latest Docmost image and restart
docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

# View live logs
docker compose logs -f docmost

# Stop the stack
docker compose down

# Restart just the app container
docker compose restart docmost

# Firewall - ensure ports 80/443 are open
ufw allow 'Nginx Full'
ufw deny 3000

Troubleshooting

Container shows Exit or Restarting

Check the logs to diagnose the issue:

Check logs

docker compose logs docmost
docker compose logs db

Common causes: incorrect APP_SECRET format (must be hex), or database password mismatch.

WebSocket connection issues

Ensure Nginx proxy_read_timeout is set to 86400s and that the Upgrade/Connection headers are present in the Nginx config.

Cannot send email invitations

Verify SMTP settings in docker-compose.yml and check the Docmost logs for SMTP errors.

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